


But You Need To Know

by KaytiKazoo



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Father-Son Relationship, Leo Fitz is Holden Radcliffe's Son, Mother-Son Relationship, Multi, Pre-Relationship, Returning Home, Subtle Dadcliffe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-13
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-17 09:16:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28722726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KaytiKazoo/pseuds/KaytiKazoo
Summary: Leo Fitz gets a surprise visit from his estranged father, and takes a trip back home.
Relationships: Leo Fitz & Leo Fitz's Mother, Leo Fitz & Melinda May, Leo Fitz/Lance Hunter/Bobbi Morse/Jemma Simmons
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	But You Need To Know

It had been a good day. Fitz had even remarked on it to a lab tech, grinning. His tongue didn’t trip and stall over words and concepts, and he hadn’t dropped or fumbled a single tool all morning. It was a good day, and Fitz hadn’t had enough good days in a while. 

“Fitz,” Mack said, looking into the lab. “Coulson wants to see you.” 

Fitz had just been about to grab lunch, his stomach rumbling, so he set down his screwdriver, saved the design file on his tablet, and followed Mack up to the director's office. 

“He’s not here,” May said as they approached. “He’s with the asset in the interview rooms. And he’s looking for you, Fitz.” 

“Okay,” Fitz said, and turned back to the elevators to head to the interview rooms. “What’s this asset?” 

May followed. 

“A scientist. Won’t tell us his name. All he will say is that he has vital information, but he wants to speak to you first.” 

“Interesting,” Fitz said. “And Skye hasn’t hunted down everything about him?” 

“Skye’s on mission.” 

“Right. She's due back soon?” 

“In theory,” May replied. 

“All this time together and I still can’t get a straight answer out of you, huh.” 

May's face stayed neutral, and she didn’t respond. Sometimes, he felt like May was his mother, not mad, just disappointed. 

They walked the rest of the way in silence. 

“He’s in here,” May said at one of the interview rooms – while on duty, they were not allowed to call them interrogation rooms, even though that’s exactly what they were. “I’ll be on the other side of the glass.” 

“Thanks, Mom,” he said a little teasingly. 

He almost got a smile out of her before he opened the door to the interview room. He stepped inside, and pulled the door shut behind him before he looked up. Coulson was sat at the table in his suit pressed neat, his hands folded on the tabletop in front of him. 

“You wanted to see me, sir?” Fitz said, and then his eyes fell on the man across from Coulson. He froze in place, and the man looked over at him. It had been nearly two decades, but he would know that face anywhere. His hair was cropped close to his head the way it always had been, now salt and pepper instead of brown. His eyes, icy and blue, found Fitz’s. 

“Leopold,” he said, and Fitz suddenly felt ten years old again, standing in the kitchen as his parents fought in the living room. 

Except, he wasn’t ten years old. He wasn’t a scared little boy in the kitchen. 

He walked forward, grabbed him by the front of his shirt and hauled him out of the chair. Coulson started to yell as Fitz slammed him into the wall behind. 

“What the fuck are you doing here?” 

“What a warm greeting after so long,” he said, and Fitz snarled. 

“Fitz!” Coulson said, grabbing him by his elbow and yanking him back. 

“Sir, I would like to introduce you to Alistair Fitz, my father,” Fitz said. “And to save what’s left of this organization, I’d recommend dumping him in the middle of nowhere before he has the chance to ruin this and everything you love.” 

He had his forearm pressed across his father’s chest, and Coulson took a hold of his bicep. 

“He has information for us,” Coulson said gently, placatingly. 

“It’s not worth it,” Fitz said. 

“Leopold,” Alistair said. He’d hoped never to hear that man’s voice ever again. He never wanted to hear his name on his father’s tongue, the name that he’d dropped, chosen to go by Fitz instead. 

“You don’t have anything to say that I want to hear,” he said evenly. “And if you think you can buy your way back into my life with a single good deed, a single shred of information, I will remind you that I haven’t seen you since I was ten years old.” 

His father stared back at him evenly. 

“Linn Park,” he said. 

It was a slap to the face, the even way he said it, and all of the memories that flooded in. He stepped back involuntarily. 

“If you want to know more, you know where to go. You never have to see me again. I just had to know you were safe.” 

He wanted to scoff, but all he could do was turn on his heel, and walk out. May met him outside and walked at his side without a word. 

“That must have been tough,” she said when he reached a point where he couldn’t walk any further. 

“I, I never wanted to see that m-m-man again in my life,” he said, his voice shaking. “He left me when I was ten because I, because I wasn’t, wasn’t. I wasn’t good enough.” 

He had been having a good day, but like all things, Alistair Fitz could ruin that. 

“That’s not on you,” May said gently. 

“I’ll never be good enough for that man, and he thinks he can just come back and check on me, like I’m some, some, some infant. Some toddler who needs minding so they, they don’t. I’m not. I grew up just fine without him.” 

Tears dripped down his cheeks, and his lower lip was beginning to wobble, when Melinda May drew him in and let him lean on her shoulder to cry. 

“You don’t owe him anything,” she said, hand cupping the back of his neck gently. It was such a maternal move, her thumb stroking small circles, it almost startled Fitz. 

“We should go to Glasgow,” he said after he had settled, breathing easier, her hand still warm and familiar at his neck. “I have to know.” 

May nodded. 

“Gather who you want; I’ll clear it with Coulson, and I'll make sure he's gone by the time we get back.” 

He raised his head and swiped away a single remaining tear. May set her hand against his jaw and cheek, and pat gently. 

“Okay,” Fitz said. “Skye is still on mission?” 

She nodded. 

“Okay.” 

His appetite was gone, so he went to find Simmons and Hunter, who he found with Bobbi in the lab. 

“I need a favor,” he said to them all as he walked in. 

“What’s that?” Hunter asked, and stopped as he turned. He knew his face must be rough. 

“Who wants to accompany me to Glasgow?” 

“Glasgow? You’re going home?” Jemma asked. “What for?” 

“So, I suppose there’s a thing or two I have to, to, to,” he paused, frowned, and fit the puzzle pieces of his sentence back together before he could continue, “to update you on. My dad’s here.” 

“He’s  _ what?!”  _ Jemma asked. “Where? Where is he?” 

She set down the tool she’d been working with hard on the bench, startling both Bobbi and Hunter. 

“I’m going to give him a piece of my mind,” she said, starting to round the bench. 

“He apparently has pertinent information, but he hid it in Glasgow, and I have to go find it.” 

“What a dick move,” she grumbled. 

“May is getting the okay from Coulson to go, I just need someone there with me to watch my back,” he said. “I don’t think he’d trap anything, but this is going to be rough enough as it is without doing it alone.” 

“Why?” Hunter said softly. 

“There’s a whole history there,” Jemma said. 

“We’ll talk on the plane,” Fitz said. 

“Can we meet your mom?” Bobbi asked. “She still lives in Glasgow, doesn’t she?” 

“She does, and you can, if you behave. Hunter.” 

“What do you mean  _ Hunter _ ? When have I ever misbehaved?” 

“You’re currently misbehaving technically,” Bobbi said. 

“Don’t help,” Hunter said. She shrugged at him. 

“Are you sure I can’t just go and have a few minutes with him?” Jemma asked. 

“I’m sure,” he replied. “I just need you with me.” 

“I’ll always be with you,” she said, and Fitz did not mention how incredibly untrue that was. They weren’t far enough removed from her departure to go poking at that wound with offhand comments.

“If you want to pack your bags, we’re going to be departing in a few minutes. May is getting the Bus ready, I assume, as soon as she gets the okay from Coulson, which – well, might be difficult since I shoved my dad into the wall, but it’s May so, I assume it’ll be okay.” 

“You what?” Hunter asked. 

“Good,” Jemma replied. “He deserved it.” 

“I need to get on that plane so I can find out how much of a piece of shit your father is,” Bobbi said. “Come on, Hunter. Let’s go pack for Scotland weather.” 

Bobbi gave Fitz a look over her shoulder while she towed Hunter out of the lab towards their bunk like they’d be talking about this later, and he was sure that was true. Fitz turned to Jemma as she approached and wrapped him in a hug he hadn’t been expecting. He still loved her, and he always would, even if their relationship was a little strained and frayed at the edges where it once had been steel. 

“We should probably pack, too,” he said. “Thank you for, for agreeing to come with me.” 

“Of course! I would not leave you to do this alone. I’m a little surprised you wanted me to come with you.” 

“I always want you to come,” Fitz said, and then laughed awkwardly. “Come with me, I mean. Not, not that I don’t – I mean, I respect your decision, and –” 

“Fitz,” she said gently, and he stopped. “I know.” 

“Thank you. Uhm. Let’s,” he said, gesturing towards the door Bobbi and Hunter had left through. 

“I did want to say one more thing, though, if you don’t mind. I know you want your distance from me, and that’s fine. I appreciate you inviting me, and trusting me with this. It must have been very hard to see him after all this time, after everything he did, and I’m sure being around me after that ordeal is compounding any emotional stress.” 

“I’m fine. And I do want you there with me after everything. I always do. Let’s go pack, Jemma. We’ll be okay.” 

* * *

Fitz sat down in the lounge on the Bus, listening to the sounds of the engines starting. That was always music to his ears, the mechanical whirring and humming, the melodic sounds of all systems running smoothly. He turned his attention to his friends at the couches around him, and nodded, knowing he owed them more than what he’d given them to justify a trip home. 

“Okay, where should I start? At the end with today, or at the beginning when I was a kid?” 

“At the beginning,” Hunter said, and Bobbi nodded. Fitz looked at Jemma who gestured to go with their suggestion. 

“Okay, at the beginning then. So, Jemma knows this story, obviously. When I was a kid, my dad wasn’t around a lot, and when he was, he wasn’t exactly father of the year.” 

Jemma snorted. 

“Which I suppose is a bit of an understatement. He was cruel and mean, probably because he hated what his life had become and might have suspected that I’m not actually his son, and –” 

“Wait, what was that bit?” Jemma asked. 

“My mum said something after he left, and before I joined SHIELD that just, it kind of made me think he’s not biologically my father, and I think he might have known that at least subconsciously so he hated me for that a little. Why else would he say I’m worthless and stupid and a mistake?” 

“He called you  _ what?” _ Hunter asked, voice dry and breaking, trading a glance with Bobbi who had a similar expression. “And you let him leave the base? Excuse me, I’m going to have May turn the plane around so I can murder him.” 

He started to stand, stopped only by Fitz’s fingers on his wrist. 

“Look, my dad is a piece of shit –” 

“Understatement,” Bobbi said. 

“– but he’s not worth the time and effort it takes to murder someone and bury him and cover it all up. If this goes well, it’ll be the last I see of him, I’m sure, and if not, then you can murder him. Okay?” 

Hunter looked to the fingers on his wrist, and then up at Fitz, and nodded. 

“Okay.” 

“What’s the ending?” Bobbi asked. 

“Today, I was called to the interview rooms, told there was a scientist who had information but only wanted to speak to me. When I got there, it was my dad, and he said that if I wanted any more information, I’d find it in Linn Park.” 

“Did you say you shoved him into a wall?” Hunter asked. 

“What? Oh, yeah. I did. That might have been an overreaction.” 

“It doesn’t sound like an overreaction to me, personally. It sounds like you went too easy on him. If it were me in the room, I would have punched him unconscious,” Hunter said seriously. “He wouldn’t have walked out of there alive if I’d been through that.” 

“I know,” Fitz said. 

“You’re okay, though?” 

There was a gentle friendship and care in Hunter’s eyes that Fitz had always felt drawn to. He couldn’t describe why, but Hunter felt familiar from the off. Even before Fitz knew him, Hunter was a soft presence in his life, steadying and reassuring. 

Bobbi had saved Jemma’s life and kept her safe when undercover, it was hard not to have a soft spot for her on sight. 

“Yeah, I’m okay. Thanks, Hunter. Thanks to all of you, I appreciate you being here with me, especially because you didn’t know what was happening.” 

“We’d go anywhere for you,” Hunter said. 

“If you want to meet my mum,” Fitz said, “there’s some other things you’re going to have to know.” 

“Oh? Are you going to warn us about your mom?” Bobbi asked. 

“No,” Fitz said. “Well, kind of. Jemma can attest to this. She thinks literally everyone I’ve even talked to is someone I’m dating, or something. She’s one of those mums who wants grandkids to spoil, and she wants to remind me of that with every second. I don’t have any brothers or sisters since she never got remarried after my dad left, and she never got back together with my actual father.” 

“So, who do you think she’s going to pick for your significant other?” Hunter asked. 

“Jemma, first,” Fitz said. 

“Understandable,” Bobbi said. 

“But after that, I’m not sure. She knows I’m bisexual, but I don’t know how much she believes I’d actually bring home a boy to her. Mostly because she’s convinced Jemma and I are secretly married or something.” 

“So, she might think we’re dating,” Hunter said, “if you break it to her that you’re not with Jemma currently.” 

Fitz looked at Jemma who shrugged. 

“Something like that.” 

“Hmm,” Hunter said. 

“Don’t take that as a challenge,” Fitz said, knowing exactly what that look in Hunter’s eyes meant. It usually followed Fitz saying something innocuous and Hunter betting that he  _ could _ do something impossible, and then Fitz having to explain to Bobbi and Jemma why Hunter was unconscious or had a black eye. 

“I’m not,” Hunter said. “But if your mum ends up loving me, and thinking we should get married and have beautiful half-English babies, I had nothing to do with it.” 

“Just keep your charm to yourself.” 

“I cannot. It flows off of me naturally. Your mum won’t even know what to do with herself.” 

“Don’t flirt with my mum, Hunter.” 

“I won’t. That’s not my goal.” 

Fitz narrowed his eyes at Hunter, and nearly asked what Hunter’s goal actually was, but wasn’t sure that he wanted to know. Even though he did. He’d always been intrigued by Hunter. It was just that Hunter didn’t treat him like a broken toy, bored when it didn’t work the same way anymore, and that was extremely rare. 

“What is your goal?” Bobbi asked for him though. 

“Clearly making  _ Fitz _ fall in love with me. Can’t believe you even have to ask.” 

* * *

“Are you okay?” May asked after they’d landed in Glasgow. She’d stopped Fitz before he could leave the lounge after the other three. 

“Yeah, I think I am. It’s good to have the four of you here for me.” 

She set her hand on his shoulder and stroked her thumb over his collarbone sweetly. He leaned into her hand and they didn’t say anything for a moment, just let their foreheads rest against each other’s. 

“Say the word,” she said quietly, “and I will hunt him down and make him regret everything.” 

Fitz chuckled and let her kiss his forehead in such a sweetly maternal gesture. 

“I’d definitely let you.” 

“Okay. I’ll stay with the Bus. Come back safe.” 

“I will,” he said, and stepped back away from her. “We might be stopping to see my mum if you don’t mind waiting that long.” 

“I don’t.” 

“Thanks, May,” he said. “Thank you for everything.” 

She gestured him out of the Bus, and he went quietly, moving to join his friends where they were getting the car ready. He smiled at her over his shoulder, and she nodded at him once. At the car, he took a deep breath and climbed into the front seat beside Hunter, the girls settled in the back. 

“May’s going to wait here, until we’re done. And I’ll call my mum on the way to the park. She should be getting out of work soon.” 

“What does your mum do?” Hunter asked. 

“She’s a nurse,” Fitz replied. “She works at the local hospital on the children’s floor. She was a, uhhh, a seamstress when I was a kid, but always wanted to be a nurse. After I went to uni, she started working towards her certification because she had the time, and didn’t have a little brat taking apart her toaster every weekend.” 

“You took apart her toaster?” Bobbi asked. 

“The toaster, the microwave, the dryer. I put them back together, but she wasn’t exactly pleased.” 

“That actually doesn’t surprise me,” Bobbi said. “That one hundred percent sounds like something Leo Fitz would do.” 

“I’m not sure what that’s supposed to mean,” Fitz replied. “Should I be offended?” 

“You’re a literal rocket scientist, Fitz. Of course, you were taking apart toasters and dryers. That seems like a good starting point for little baby Leopold.” 

“Yeah, okay, that’s fair.” 

“It’s not a bad thing,” she said, nudging him from the backseat. 

“I think it’s adorable,” Hunter said, throwing a smile at Fitz. Fitz rolled his eyes at Hunter but didn’t tell him off. “Where am I going?” 

“There’s a park, Linn Park. It’s about 20 minutes from here. Hopefully, if there’s no traffic. Follow this road, and follow the signs towards Glasgow.” 

“Are you going to call your mom now?” Bobbi asked. 

“I guess,” Fitz said. “I don’t want to have this conversation with her.” 

“You have to,” Jemma said, “preferably before we get there.” 

“I know.” 

He took out his phone from the jacket of his coat pocket, and carefully dialed his mum’s cell phone. It rang a few times and she answered with a cheery hello. 

“Hey mum,” he said. 

“Oh, Leo! You got a new number!” 

“I did. Sorry for not telling you.” 

“Oh, that’s okay, love. I’ve got you on the phone now. What do I owe the pleasure of your call today?” 

“I’m in Glasgow,” he said. 

“Leopold!” 

“Surprise?” 

She started chattering him in Gaelic, talking about springing things on her and not giving her time to prepare, about how she hadn’t showered, or cleaned the house. Fitz turned the call on speakerphone so his friends could hear her, too. 

“Mum, I’m also bringing friends,” he replied. 

That started a new tirade about how could he do this to her, he knew that she needed more time, how could she possibly have the house ready, when were they arriving. 

“Mum,” he said patiently, and to soothe her a little further, he switched to Gaelic. “You have some time. We have an errand to run in the city, and that might take a little bit of time. I will let you know when we’re done so you have a heads up.” 

“Why didn’t you let me know you were coming?” 

“It was honestly last minute. I’m here for work, and thought you might want to meet some friends of mine. And I’m bringing Jemma.” 

“Oh, I understood that,” Hunter said. 

“Yeah, it was Jemma’s name,” Bobbi said. “Everyone understood that.” 

“They’re talking about you,” Hunter hissed at Jemma. 

“Hunter,” Fitz said. “Could you behave for three minutes?” 

“Not likely,” Bobbi said. 

“Hunter?” his mum asked. “I don’t recognize that name.”

“You’ll meet him in a little bit.”

“I don’t like how secretive you’re being, Leopold.”

“I know. I’ll be there soon and we’ll talk about this, preferably in English.”

She sighed heavily.

“Okay. But I want the whole truth, Leo.”

“You can have it.”

“I’ll see you soon, my love.”

“I'll see you soon, Mum,” he replied. He hung up and set his phone back down, looking out the windshield at the road. 

“What language was that?” Hunter asked.

“Scottish Gaelic,” Fitz replied. “Mum made me learn, said that she didn’t want our heritage destroyed by England. No offense.”

“No, that’s fair,” Hunter said. 

“Understandable,” Jemma said. 

“It’s a pretty language,” Bobbi commented. “Could you teach me? I'm a good student.”

“Yeah, of course. Mum would love that, if I passed it on.”

He peeked over his shoulder at her and she was absolutely beaming. 

* * *

Linn Park was quiet, the early spring chill keeping most kids and parents away. Fitz led them through the park past the swings his da used to push him on, past the slide he’d whizz down and into his da’s arms, past the large wooden play castle that he’d gotten lost in and cried until his da had crawled into it to rescue him. 

He swallowed past a lump in his throat. There was once upon a time that he hadn't known to be afraid of his father. There was once upon a time that his father hadn’t been scary; he had cradled Leo against his chest, kissed his forehead, sang him to sleep, rocking him back and forth to calm him down. He’d been safe, the way he should have been for Leo’s entire life. 

“I used to come here,” Fitz said finally, forcing the words out of his mouth. “When I was a kid, my da would bring me here after school or on weekends. I'd play on the playground and with other kids. I jumped off that piece there, and skinned my knee. My da carried me to the car and patched up my knee with this first aid kit he kept there because I was constantly scraped up. I couldn't stay on my feet. He bought me an ice cream after just to make me stop crying."

"Alistair did that?" Jemma asked softly.

"Yeah. I guess he wasn't always terrible."

"They never are. That's what makes the terrible hurt so much," Hunter said, touching his shoulder. Fitz looked at him, and Hunter smiled. "I might know something about shitty fathers."

Fitz caught his hand in a bold, uncharacteristic move. He didn't - this wasn't him, but something about Linn Park, the place he'd never been afraid, took him over and gave him the courage. Hunter grinned at him, clearly pleased.

"Thank you for being here, then," Fitz said.

"I wouldn't want to be anywhere else, love."

Fitz ducked them behind a little copse of trees in the middle of the park. Mums and nannies would often come here to smoke where their kids couldn't see them. Fitz, when he was a kid, would sneak in and watch them, confused and endlessly curious why the adults were hiding. 

"And what are you doing back here?" Da had said, peeking down into the bush Leo had tucked himself behind. The adults had cleared out as the rain had started, and Da had come to find him. "You scared of a little rain, Leo?"

"No, I'm not scared," he had replied. "I was listening to the adults."

"Oh, do I have a little spy instead of a boy?"

Leo had giggled as Alistair had stepped into the cover of the trees. Leo had dug in the roots of the bush, his hands filthy.

"And what is my little spy doing back here?"

"Time caption!"

"A time  _ caption _ , Leo?"

"A, a box, you put in the ground, and dig up later!"

"Capsule," Da had corrected. "What are you putting in? And where's your box?"

"I don't know," Leo had admitted.

"Well, let's see if we can find something to put in there, shall we?"

Now, standing underneath the copse of trees, it looked so much smaller than Fitz remembered. The bush, too, clearly could not hide him anymore. It was like going back to his mum's house after graduating from the Academy and discovering how small it was comparatively. 

“Did we bring the shovel?” Fitz asked, nudging the disturbed dirt underneath the bush with the toe of his shoe. 

“Yeah, right here,” Bobbi said, passing over the small shovel from the Bus that she’d carried. 

“Thanks,” Fitz said, smiling at her, and she smiled back. He went to work digging up whatever was buried there. It didn’t take long to hit an object in the dirt, hard and metal, and he pushed as much dirt away from the box to be able to pull it from the ground. He set it on the ground in the middle of the ground and unlatched it. “Okay. Here we go.”

He didn’t know what he was expecting when he opened the box. With Alistair, it could literally be anything, sweet or sour, so he had no idea what it could possibly be. A stack of documents and folders with USB drives attached to them was not what he was expecting at all. 

“Huh,” he said out loud. 

“Fitz,” Jemma said, kneeling next to him. There was an envelope that had clearly been set on top and had slid off to the side, addressed to him in a messy script he knew to be Alistair’s. “You okay?”

“Yeah. I think so.”

He took the envelope, and there was clearly something else in the envelope based on weight alone, and pushed the box towards the rest of them to sort through and report to May and Coulson about. His head was entirely on whatever this could be. Jemma turned to help Bobbi and Hunter, giving him a sense of privacy if he needed it, but didn’t go too far in case he needed her. 

His hands shook as he carefully opened the envelope, pulling out the single piece of paper and a small gold coin. He held the coin in his hand, and opened the letter. It wasn’t very long, a few lines of handwritten text, but Fitz had to read it several times to really understand it. 

_ Leo, _

_ I’ve been thinking about you more recently, and how I failed you. I do not expect your forgiveness, nor do I deserve it, for what I put you through. I was a cruel man, and I’ve been working on accepting that. For what I did, and what I didn’t do, and who I should have been, I am earnestly sorry.  _

_ This was your grandfather’s, who I named you after. It’s all I have to offer as recompense.  _

_ Sincerely, _

_ Dad _

He turned the coin over in his hand, an old coat of arms on one side and a roaring lion on the other. Slowly, he rubbed his thumb over the lion.

He remembered this coin. His dad used to rub his thumb over it just like this while he drank, sat at their kitchen table with a glass and the open bottle by his elbow. He would consider it, turning it over and over. Leo had tried to look at it once, but his dad had snapped at him.

"There's actually a lot of actionable data here on a company funded by Hydra's old heads. The company seems to be farming data on customers for use," Bobbi said. Fitz looked over at them, and put the coin back in the envelope with the letter, pocketing it all.

"Time to get this back to Skye, then?" Fitz asked.

"Time to see your mum, actually," Hunter said.

* * *

Fitz felt the letter in his pocket like a lead weight as he guided Hunter through Glasgow's streets to his childhood home. It looked small, a single floor with a modest yard, but he'd always loved this house, especially after he'd left for uni and the Academy and had been away from it, and her. 

"This is a sweet little place," Bobbi said from the backseat. 

"Yeah, it's a good place," he said. He'd texted his mum to let her know they were on their way so as he stepped out of the car, he could see his mum's face peeking at him through the kitchen window. He waved, and her face disappeared. "Brace yourselves for this. Mum is intense."

"Abi Fitz is actually extremely delightful, don't let him scare you away," Jemma said.

Fitz led them through the yard and let himself into the house.

"Mum? I'm home."

Abigail Fitz was a small woman but was also a force of nature, with a name of wild, curly hair pulled up into a ponytail and constantly stained shirts from spilled coffee. She popped out of the kitchen and hurried to him, grabbing him on a hug a constrictor snake would be jealous of.

"Oh, my boy," she said, a sigh into his neck. "It's so good to see you."

"It's good to see you, too, Mum."

“You have to come home more often, Leo. I don’t like you being gone so long.”

“I’ll be better,” he said. “Promise.”

She kissed him on the cheek and rubbed her thumb over his jaw and his growing stubble there.

“This is new.”

“Trying something out.”

He did not mention that he didn’t have steady enough hands not to cut himself shaving anymore. Coulson had offered to help him if he wanted it, but that seemed too humiliating even to him.

“Well, I like it. You look so grown up.”

“I don’t look like a really tired ten year old, then?” he asked, teasing, quoting her own words back to her from the last time he came home. 

“You do need some more sleep, but you look good, Leo. As do your friends,” she said without lowering her voice. “Is one of them, you know?”

“No, Mum.”

She let out a heavy sigh and shook her head.

“Be nice to them anyway.”

“I’m always nice.”

He stood to the side and faced his friends.

“You remember Jemma, of course.”

“Of course. I’m so glad Leo brought you, Jemma.”

“It’s good to see you, Abi.”

Jemma moved in and they kissed each other’s cheeks familiarly. When Abi stepped away, Fitz gestured next to Hunter.

“This is Lance Hunter.”

“It’s nice to finally meet you, ma’am. I’ve always wondered where such an extraordinary man came from,” Hunter said with his charming smile. Fitz couldn’t even be angry with him, his expression genuine.

“Oh, I like him,” Abi said to Fitz.

“Yeah,” Fitz said, looking at Hunter who turned that goddamn disarming grin on him. “I thought you would. And this is Bobbi Morse.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for allowing us to visit on such a short notice.”

Fitz could see his mum’s absolute delight turning over in her head, a polite American woman, who was objectively gorgeous, coming home with her son. 

“There’s no problem at all, love. Leo, and his  _ friends _ are welcome here anytime,” Abi said. “Come sit, make yourselves at home. Can I interest anyone in tea, or a coffee?”

Hunter and Bobbi agreed to coffee, while Jemma requested tea.

“I’ll help, Mum,” he said, following her into the kitchen because he knew she’d absolutely want to gossip immediately about the strangers he’d brought into her home. “So, I know you have thoughts.”

“I have them,” she confirmed. “But I want to get to know them first, especially if you have a future with them.”

“Mum,” he started to argue.

“Get the coffee for me, love.”

“Sure,” he said, “but you know that I’m not dating anyone.”

“Yet.”

“Mum, you can’t just will me into a relationship.”

“I can try. You deserve to be happy, and love, and to have someone who will look after you. I know how you can get, how you get lost in work, and you have someone to remind you there’s stuff outside the lab.”

“I have that,” he said. “Jemma, my friends, they do care about me like that. I don’t need a romantic relationship to have love.”

“I know that. But you clearly have some kind of affection, or feelings for these three specifically.”

“Maybe I do, but you can’t push me into dating them.”

“You should take a chance. They’d be lucky to have you.”

“Thanks, Mum.”

“Besides, they are all absolutely stunning. I think Bobbi is the hottest woman I’ve ever seen.”

“Mum!” 

“What? You know I’m right.”

He huffed out an awkward laugh, and said, “you’re right, but I don’t think you should say it to me, especially if I ever date Bobbi, which is not a guarantee. I’m not saying that I will, don’t give me that hopeful face; I’m just saying that it’ll be a weird comment to say about your daughter-in-law.”

“Daughter-in-law, huh?”

“Oh, don’t start, I told you not to get your hopeful face.”

“You’re the one who’s mentioning marriage. All I said was that she was beautiful.”

“I’m going to take these out,” Fitz said, picking up Hunter and Bobbi's coffees in one hand and his own in the other. “You forget everything you heard and behave when you come back out.”

“Unlikely,” she replied playfully, and he laughed. 

He carried the mugs out into the living room and passed Hunter his then Bobbi hers, both already made with one cream and no sugar. 

“I didn’t know you drank coffee,” Hunter said, nodding to Fitz’s mug.

“I don’t often,” Fitz replied. “Just on days like today.”

“Understood.”

Fitz sat down on the loveseat beside Hunter without pausing, fitting right next to him without overthinking it.

“Hey, who’s this?” Bobbi asked from the couch, gesturing to a photo on the side table between them with her mug. It was a framed photo of Abi and a man that Fitz didn’t recognize when they were much younger, Abi grinning freely. There wasn’t the same shadow in her eyes he was used to, the shadow that would darken when his dad would step into the room. She looked light, and happy. He’d never seen the photo before. 

“I don’t know,” he said.

“He just, he must be some kind of relative. You have the same eyes.”

“Might be. Mum isn’t close with her family. They had a major disagreement about my dad, and even after he left, they didn't speak,” Fitz replied, sipping his coffee. 

His mum came out with Jemma's tea and her own, passing it over with a smile.

"Thank you, Abi," Jemma said. "How have you been? It's been so long since I've been back."

"It has. Leo has to stop hiding you away just because he's easily embarrassed."

"I am not," he protested, even as a blush spread hot over his cheeks. 

"I've been good," Abi continued as if Fitz hadn't interrupted. "Working at the hospital is good for me, makes me feel like I'm making a difference. Although, not as exciting as what you all have been through in the last year or two, I assume."

Bobbi's eyes widened and she glanced at Fitz.

"She had to sign off on me joining SHIELD academy since I was technically fifteen when I was recruited, so she knows I'm a SHIELD agent."

"Oh," Bobbi said. "I didn't realize there was a, a permission slip required."

"When you're a child trying to join an elite spy organization, strangely yeah," he said. "Jemma's parents know, too. They all had to sign confidentiality agreements as well."

"Which I suppose aren't technically valid any longer," Jemma said, "given that SHIELD as an organization in the public space doesn't exist."

"I still won't tell," Abi said with a cheeky wink at Bobbi. Fitz rolled his eyes but sipped his coffee. It was good to be home, even if the day had started with Alistair Fitz, and if this was the consequence, his mum getting to know his friends and his friends getting to know her in return, he couldn't say he minded. 

* * *

"We'll be in the car when you're ready," Bobbi said on the way out of his mum's house. Too soon, they had to leave. "Take your time."

"Thanks," Fitz replied, letting the three of them ahead of him. Bobbi squeezed his hand with a gentle smile, and let him go. His mum waited in the entryway with him until they were loaded into the car. "So, thoughts."

"You like them."

He laughed and replied, "I do. They're good people. They've done some miraculous things, and they've been good to me, especially after the accident."

He'd lied to his mum about the extent of his brain injury and his symptoms. 

"You know that I adore Jemma already, and the fact that you and her have remained close and friends through this whole ordeal is something extraordinarily special. I don't want to push you into stuff you're not ready for, but if you and Jemma ever decide you want to try something new, I support you."

"I know."

"Hunter's a sweetheart," she continued. "You've never brought a boy home before."

"What do you think?"

"And he's good to you?"

"He is. I'm not dating him, but he is good to me. He's incredible."

"Plus, he's adorable."

"That, too. He intentionally was trying to make you like him."

"It worked."

"And Bobbi?" he asked. "Beyond the fact that she's beautiful, obviously."

"She is," she said, "and so much more than just that. She could keep up with you, and that mind of yours."

"She really can. And she can kick my ass."

"Which you need sometimes," she agreed.

"I do," he said with a laugh, shaking his head. "So, again not that I am dating them, not that I will, but you approve?"

"I do. They're good."

"Thanks, Mum. I'll try to make it home more often."

"Be good, Leo," she said, kissing his cheek. Then, in Gaelic, she said, "I love you."

"I love you," he replied, and stepped out of the house. She kept the door open as he crossed to the car. He opened the car door, and turned back to wave at her. She lifted her hand in response, and he sank into his seat next to Hunter. 

"I can't believe we have to leave already," Fitz said. Hunter pat his thigh sweetly, and Fitz caught his hand before he could draw away. "You're all officially a hit with my mum, though, and she approves of the company I keep."

"Approves enough that you'll go on a date with us?" Bobbi asked. Fitz peeked over his shoulder at her. "We've been talking while you were with your mom, and realized we all like you, and each other, and if you like us, no reason we can't try something new together."

"And everyone is on board?" he asked. Hunter squeezed his hand, and when Fitz caught Jemma's eyes, she looked sheepish. "Even you?"

"You surprised me in the pod, and I didn't have a chance to say anything, and then you were in a coma, and then you were recovering. It's not like there wasn't something to talk about. So, if you want, after what happened, yes. Even me."

"Okay," he said. "Let's try something new."

* * *

"Hey, who was her favorite?" Hunter asked.

"Oh," Fitz said. "She loved all of you, but Bobbi was her favorite."

* * *

May met them at the Bus, glancing at Hunter's hand in Fitz's but as always not saying a word about it. 

"Everything okay?" she asked him.

"Yeah, we've got the information from my dad. It's probably nothing, of course, but might be worth a once over."

"And you?"

He nodded, and she nodded back. 

"Can you do me a favor?" he asked, taking out the coin from his pocket. "Can you drop this over the ocean?"

She looked at it with an eyebrow raised.

"From my dad," he replied. 

He let the coin drop into her palm.

"I'll take care of this. Coulson wants to see you when we land, and Skye's back from her mission."

"Good. Okay. Thank you, May, for today. For everything."

"You've got us, Fitz, no matter where you come from or what your father has done. We are your family."

"Yeah," he said, and playfully nudged her. "Thanks, Mom."

She laughed, and it was a good sound. The day had been long, and he could use a nap, and a huge burger, but it hadn't been bad. No, he thought, pulling Hunter with him towards the kitchen, it had been quite good, and it was just getting better.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, this came from the whole desire to see Fitz shove Alistair into a wall, and then I had to write a whole fic around it, so almost 7k later.... add in some Scis & Spies, add in some subtle Dadcliffe, and voila.


End file.
